Detroit Shock Announces 2007 Post Season Roster
August 22, 2007 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Detroit Shock News Release
Auburn Hills, MI - The Detroit Shock announced today the 2007 postseason roster that will make a run at the franchise's third WNBA championship in five years. The 2007 WNBA Playoffs mark the Shock's fifth consecutive postseason appearance, tied for the longest active streak in the league. The Connecticut Sun and Sacramento Monarchs also have made the playoffs each year since 2003.
The Shock roster boasts 142 games of playoff experience spanning a combined 27 postseasons. Swin Cash, Cheryl Ford, Deanna Nolan, and Elaine Powell have been a part of all five Shock playoff teams since 2003, when the team won its first WNBA title. Plenette Pierson, Katie Smith, and Kara Braxton also remain from last year's WNBA championship squad.
Rookie guards Ivory Latta and Tyresa Smith and three-year veteran center Katie Feenstra will be making their first postseason appearance.
The Shock's first-round opponent, the New York Liberty, has 32 games of playoff experience. Liberty forward Barb Farris has the most postseason playing time on the team with three years of playoff competition accumulated with the Shock from 2003-05.
Three additional players have been signed in the past week, bringing the Shock roster to 13 active players, the most they have had in uniform all season. The Shock signed Tyresa Smith and forward-center Tausha Mills on Saturday. Smith, a 5-10 guard, was released by the Phoenix Mercury May 17 after being drafting No. 18 overall in the 2007 WNBA Draft. Detroit originally signed Mills, a 6-3 center, to a seven-day contract on August 9, and re-signed her for the rest of the season on August 18. She averaged 3.3 points and 4.0 rebounds in her first four games with the Shock.
Former Shock champion Ayana Walker also signed just in time for playoffs. She was added to the roster Thursday, August 16. A 2002 second-round pick by Detroit, Walker spent four seasons with the Shock. She had six rebounds, five points and four steals in four games during the team's 2003 playoff run.
The Shock will take on the New York Liberty in the first round of the 2007 WNBA playoffs. The first round schedule is as follows:
Game 1 - Fri August 24 Detroit at New York 7:30 PM 7:30 PM NBATV
Game 2 - Sun August 26 New York at Detroit 1:00 PM 1:00 PM ABC
Game 3 * Tue August 28 New York at Detroit 7:00 PM 7:00 PM ESPN2
2007 DETROIT SHOCK POST SEASON ROSTER
NO POS NAME HT WT DOB COLLEGE/COUNTRY YRS
45 C Kara Braxton 6-6 210 2/18/83 Georgia '05 2
32 F Swin Cash 6-1 162 9/22/79 Connecticut '02 5
44 C Katie Feenstra 6-8 240 11/17/82 Liberty '05 2
35 F/C Cheryl Ford 6-3 198 6/6/81 Louisiana Tech '03 4
7 G Shannon Johnson 5-7 152 8/18/74 South Carolina '96 8
12 G Ivory Latta 5-6 143 9/24/84 North Carolina '07 R
8 C Tausha Mills 6-3 232 2/29/76 Alabama '98 4
14 G Deanna Nolan 5-11 144 8/25/79 Georgia '01 6
23 F Plenette Pierson 6-2 181 8/31/81 Texas Tech '03 4
5 G Elaine Powell 5-8 150 8/9/75 Louisiana State '97 7
30 G Katie Smith 5-11 174 6/4/74 Ohio State '96 8
3 G Tyresa Smith 5-10 155 4/21/85 Delaware '07 R
1 F Ayana Walker 6-3 143 9/10/79 Louisiana Tech '02 5
Head Coach Bill Laimbeer - Notre Dame '79
Assistant Coaches Rick Mahorn - Hampton Institute '80
Cheryl Reeve - La Salle '88
Head Athletic Trainer Laura Ramus - Wayne State '87
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